Acknowledged as Scotland's national drink, whisky - in the Gaelic, uisge beatha (pronounced oosh-ga beh-huh), meaning water of life - has been produced here for longer than anyone can remember. Something that began centuries ago as a way of using up rain-soaked barley after a wet harvest, the whisky industry has now grown into one of the country's biggest earners, bringing in hundreds of millions of pounds every year. To learn more, visit ScotlandWhisky.com, the dedicated Whisky site.

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Riconosciuta come bevanda nazionale scozzese, il whisky – in lingua Gaelica uisge beatha (pronuncia: oosh-ga beh-huh ), che significa acqua di vita – viene prodotta in Scozia da tempi lunghissimi. Qualcosa iniziato secoli fa come un modo per utilizzare l’orzo bagnato dalla pioggia dopo un raccolto molto umido, l’industria del whisky è tanto cresciuta da divenire una delle industrie top che porta milioni di pounds ogni anno.

With the growth of urban centres and the emergence of Scots as the language of the royal court in the 15th and 16th centuries, Gaelic began to lose its dominance. This was accelerated by the adoption in turn of English as the official language of the country following the 1707 Act of Union which confirmed what had been the de facto position in the more populous Lowlands for several generations. Gaelic also suffered severely in the 18th and 19th centuries as a result of the Government attack on all aspects of Highland culture following the defeat of the Jacobites in 1746, and from the effects of the Clearances which destroyed many Gaelic-speaking communities throughout

Con la crescita dei centri urbani e l’emergere dello Scozzese come lingua ufficiale della corte nei secoli 15° e 16°, il Gaelico iniziò a perdere di importanza.

Ciò fu anche accelerato dall’adozione dell’Inglese come lingua ufficiale del paese in seguito alla Legge dell’Unione del 1707 che confermò la situazione de facto nelle zone più abitate del paese (il sud).La lingua Gaelica soffrì parecchio anche nei secoli 18° e 19° in seguito agli attacchi del Governo nei confronti della cultura delle Highlands in seguito alla sconfitta dei Giacobiti nel 1746° per effetto delle Clearances (spostamenti obbligatori di popolazione)che distrussero molte comunità di lingua Gaelica.

But why is it that such a proud people as the Scots should choose a humble weed as its national symbol? In truth, no-one knows. There is a legend which relates how a sleeping party of Scots warriors were almost set upon by an invading band of Vikings and were only saved when one of the attackers trod on a wild thistle with his bare feet. His cries raised the alarm and the roused Scots duly defeated the Danes. In gratitude, the plant became known as the Guardian Thistle and was adopted as the symbol of Scotland.

Come può essere che un popolo così orgoglioso come quello scozzese abbia scelto un umile fiore come simbolo nazionale?

Davvero nessuno lo sa. C’è una leggenda che riguarda come un gruppo di guerrieri scozzesi fosse quasi sopraffatta da un gruppo di Vichinghi e fossero salvati quando uno degli attaccanti inciampò su un cardo selvatico coi piedi nudi. Le urla diedero l’allarme e gli Scozzesi riuscirono a sconfiggere i Danesi.

Per gratitudine, la pianta divenne conosciuta come il Cardo Guardiano e venne adottato come simbolo scozzese.

Whatever its origins, the thistle has been an important Scottish symbol for more than 500 years. Perhaps its first recognisable use was on silver coins issued in 1470 during the reign of James III and from the early 16th century, it was incorporated into the Royal Arms of Scotland. Scotland's premier Order of Chivalry, established in 1687, is The Most Ancient and Noble Order of the Thistle and its members wear a collar chain whose links are made of golden thistles. The Knights and Ladies of the Thistle also wear a breast star which bears the thistle emblem and a motto which is regularly associated with it, Nemo Me Impune Lacessit - 'no-one provokes me with impunity'.

Il cardo è stato un importante simbolo scozzese per più di 500 anni. Apparve dapprima su minete d’argento emesse nel 1470 durante il regno di Giacomo III e a partire dall’inizio del 16° secolo fu inserita nel Royal Arms scozzese.

Il primo Ordine di cavalleria venne creato in Scozia nel 1687, è l’Ordine del Cardo più antico e nobile. I suoi membri indossano un collare i cui anelli della catena sono fatti di cardi d’oro. I Cavalieri e le Ladies del Cardo indossano anche una stella sul petto che porta l’emblema del cardo ed un motto:”Nemo Me Impune Lacessit”, cioè: Nessuno Mi può Provocare impunemente”.

The earliest recorded reference to bagpipes is on a Hittite slab from Asia Minor which has been dated to 1000 BC while by the 1st century AD, bagpipes existed in many countries from India to Spain and from France to Egypt. It's also clear that bagpipes were popular throughout the rest of the British isles prior to their documented appearance north of the border. When, and how, they did first appear in Scotland is a hotly contested topic with competing theories claiming they were either a Roman import or that the instrument came from Ireland

Il primo riferimento alle cornamuse risale all’Asia Minore del 100 AC, mentre dal primo secolo DC, le cornamuse si trovavano in molti paesi dall’India alla Spagna e dalla Francia all’Egitto.

Quando e come apparvero in Scozia non è del tutto chiaro: ci sono teorie che le spiegano come portate dai Romani o quella che siano arrivate dall’Irlanda.

Music stylesThere are essentially two types of music played on the Highland pipes: the march, strathspey and reel variety, which were composed for military or social events, and the piobaireachd (pronounced pee-broch) which is the 'symphony music' of the pipes. This classical music is an art form which can compare to the music of any other country and most of it was composed 100 years before the piano and without written notation.

So while they did not invent bagpipes, Scots can fairly claim to have made them their own through keeping them alive as part of their musical tradition and by making them one of the outstanding parts of their culture

Il massacro di Glencoe è un episodio della storia scozzese, avvenuto il 13 febbraio 1692 nelle strette valli della regione di Glencoe (Scozia) durante la Rivoluzione Gloriosa. Il massacro ebbe luogo contemporaneamente in tre insediamenti differenti lungo la vallata di Glencoe , a Invercoe, Inverrigan, e Achacon. Nel massacro, trentotto appartenenti al clan dei MacDonald di Glencoe furono uccisi dai loro ospiti sul territorio che i Mac Donald avevano rifiutato di dare in segno di sottomissione al nuovo sovrano Guglielmo III d'Inghilterra. Altre 40 persone, tra donne e bambini, morirono di stenti a seguito dell'incendio delle loro case.

Early in the morning of 13 February 1692, in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite uprising of 1689 led by John Graham of Claverhouse, an infamous massacre took place in Glen Coe, in the Highlands of Scotland. This incident is referred to as the Massacre of Glencoe, or in Scottish Gaelic, 'Mort Ghlinne Comhann' (murder of Glen Coe). The massacre began simultaneously in three settlements along the glen—Invercoe, Inverrigan, and Achnacon—although the killing took place all over the glen as fleeing MacDonalds were pursued. Thirty-eight MacDonalds from the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by the guests who had accepted their hospitality, on the grounds that the MacDonalds had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the new monarchs, William and Mary. Another forty women and children died of exposure after their homes were burned